social media – COM Ambassador Blog

Jon: COM Talks

Hey everyone! As a self-proclaimed ad-geek, I love getting as much info about advertising as I can. Luckily for me (and all my peers), COM hosts a number of awesome events and speakers throughout the year, and there’s another one coming up tonight!

At 5 p.m. tonight, Mike Schneider, the SVP and Director of the Digital Incubator at a&g, will be giving a talk titled: The Role of Authentic Content in Modern Branding. While at first glance, that may seem like an awful lot of buzzwords, I can assure you that there is substance to back them up!

You see, I got the chance to hear Mike Schneider (or @SchneiderMike, as the Twitterverse knows him), last year at a panel COM hosted on how companies and agencies going beyond the basics of social media and use it to effectively access and communicate with their target communities. Pretty cool, eh? Like I said: ad-geek.

Anyways, I was blown away by Mike’s breadth of knowledge and comfort with public speaking. He was quick, personable, incredibly sharp, and best of all, witty. Not only did he teach the audience some valuable lessons, but he kept them entertained while doing it (largely as a result of his banter with fellow panelist and COM professor Edward Boches). After hearing him talk, I certainly felt more informed about how I could more strategically implement a social media plan if I were thrust into that role at an agency.

Tomorrow he will speak again on the topic of content branding; a recent trend where advertisers and agencies create real content that expands or shapes a brand’s image, rather than simply trying to sell it to a target market. Agencies and clients are rapidly seeing more value in this kind of content, as it provides content consumers actually want to engage with for its own sake, while simultaneously giving the brand exposure. A great example is this Mini Cooper campaign launched by DDB Paris that featured a game based on Google Maps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uveD0Z3lIWo.

Opportunities like these are just one more of the many reasons I love COM. Make sure you take advantage of them! They are informative and helpful for career development, as well as quite entertaining.

And the best part? They’re almost always free.

Until next time,

Jon

Link to the Event: http://schneidermike.eventbrite.com/

Jon: Tweetapalooza (AKA Social Media Day 2012)

Hello there future Terriers! I hope you are all having WONDERFUL summers, and getting a chance to go out and enjoy the beach/pond/pool/swimming location of choice. If you’ve seen the Open House 2012 video, you’ll know that I’m partial to the COM lawn fountain. However, I was forced to pull myself away from frolicking on the front lawn of 640 Commonwealth Avenue when I heard that Social Media Day 2012 was coming to Boston!

Ahh, I can hear the ears of all you Facebook fanatics perking up already. But what’s Social Media Day you ask? Well since 2010, social media news site Mashable has hosted Social Media Day, which is an annual event to celebrate and recognize the power of and accomplishments in social media across the world. This year, COM hosted its own meetup in partnership with Mashable.

But what exactly went on? Well, we gathered top social media representatives from major sports teams and businesses including the Boston Red Sox, the Celtics, the New England Patriots, allen&gerritsen, and Startup Health to take part in several panels on the state of social media from the business perspective. Not only was this a chance to hear these professionals speak as well as ask them questions about social media and its business applications, but it was COMPLETELY FREE.

Well as an advertising major, I found it particularly interesting to listen to Tamsen McMahon, Vice President of Digital Strategy for allen&gerritsen, a major agency in Boston. Her frank and often witty insight revealed that your brand, whether that is your brand as an individual, a small business, or an international corporation, should not invest in social media marketing unless you have a strategy and a purpose for doing it. You don’t have anything to blog about? Then don’t blog. Her direct tone was enough to convince this future Mad Man that if one is trying to create a personal connection with a customer, they better know what their brand stands for and what their customer wants.

#smdayBos wasn’t all work and no play. Two lucky winners walked away with Amazon.com giftcards after winning Social Media Buzzword Bingo (multi-platform viral ecosystem anyone?), and the panels were followed by a fabulous reception on the COM lawn complete with music, food, and a chance to hang out with some of my favorite COM people.

Until next time, signing off ~

~ Jon Mayer.

Lauren: The Perks of Being a Rep

Hello everyone! I’m so excited to be a new COM ambassador and I can’t wait to share my thoughts and experiences with all of you! My time at BU has been amazing so far, and I’ve truly enjoyed every minute! What’s so exciting about this school is that there are always job and internship opportunities, not only within the BU community, but throughout Boston as well! Recently, I’ve had the chance to serve as a BU Campus Rep for American Eagle Outfitters, and I’ve discovered just how much fun I can have while gaining real, hands-on experience with advertising and promotions!

Being a campus representative is definitely a great way to get involved! I work for the Youth Marketing Connection AE Student Union program and I’m mainly responsible for helping to plan and attend all the free giveaways that we have around campus. Part of my job also involves promoting these upcoming events through the program’s Facebook page, AE Student Union at Boston University, and my own personal Twitter and Facebook accounts. My job has also given me the opportunity to gain more knowledge about social media! I’m proud to say that the official American Eagle Co. Twitter account, @american_eagle, recently tweeted back at me after I wrote about one of the AE Student Union events! I felt like such a celebrity!

The AE reps at BU are always holding giveaways on campus, like the “New Year, New You” event that happened this January at the Fitness and Recreation Center and the “Aerie Undie Gram Giveaway” we had for Valentine’s Day! We’re also busy now planning a ton of upcoming events, like the “Break Away Spring Break Giveaway” (where we’ll be giving away colorful sunglasses and t-shirts) and the “Break into Spring Campus Hunt” (where we’ll be hiding tons of gifts all around campus for lucky individuals to find)! I love working at these events and getting the opportunity to meet all kinds of BU students!

My favorite part of my job, however, is getting free AE gear! I’ve received comfy American Eagle scarves, flip flops, water bottles, Frisbees, coupons, gift cards and more! I have to say it’s a pretty nice deal!

But it’s not all fun and games! The campus representatives are also responsible for creating and executing a marketing plan. Although this can be difficult, learning about what it takes to make a marketing plan is an important skill that will definitely help me in my future career! This opportunity has given me the chance to get real event planning, marketing, advertising and promotional experience. The time commitment hasn’t been too overwhelming so far, and this job looks great on my resume too! I definitely suggest that students, especially those majoring in Public Relations, Advertising or Mass Communication, look into getting campus representative positions! You can go to the BU Career Link or the Job Board Listing on Student Link to check for any new opportunities!